There is a long list of skills and behaviors we ask for and hope for from our leaders. But there is a skill we would all agree is important, but seldom put on the list. That is the skill of creating clarity. Recently I wrote about how the most effective organizations are creating clarity. Clarity

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It’s not a typo. I’m not talking about the importance of work experience. I’m talking about the experience of work, meaning how we experience our work and those we work with. Have you thought about this for yourself and your team? I propose that leaders must take an experiential focus as they look at work

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At the heart of it, all organizations want the same thing – to reach their goals and mission. The goals might be profit or purpose-related (or both), but they want leaders who can get them more of whatever “that” is; that is, more results. To that end, enlightened organizations look for ways to develop their

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I’m not talking about off-brand or store labels, versus the national brands. I’m talking about the labels we place on ourselves as leaders. The labels seem helpful (or harmless at worst), but this isn’t always the case. What are the labels I’m talking about? Leadership styles and approaches. Often promoted by people like me. Don’t misunderstand

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If you have been through it, you know that downsizing is hard – for everyone. Understandably most people think first about those who leave – they need to find a new job and face plenty of uncertainty. But it is no picnic for those who remain – including the leaders who must work through the

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In the criminal justice system, there is a focus on the analysis probable cause (cue the Law and Order theme music). In business, we use root cause analysis, which is useful in many cases. But in the world of dealing with other people, we often cannot know their motives or thoughts, and so neither of

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Gloom, despair, agony (people of a certain age might be reminded of a song right about now). All are emotional responses to hardships. We’ve all experienced these events and these emotions, yet some people seem to have a different perspective on these events – have they found benefits in suffering? I believe they have –

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Delegation is a critical skill for any leader, yet many find it incredibly challenging. In this post, I will explore the three primary reasons why delegation is so hard and offer some insights on how to overcome these obstacles.Lack of TimeOne of the most common reasons leaders avoid delegation is the perceived lack of time.

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Recently, I spoke to a gathering of HR professionals and learned something interesting. The most negotiated part of the employment agreement these days (at least for this major employer, and others) is not salary. It’s the ability to work a hybrid schedule. But is hybrid work a perk, or an advantage to employers? It depends

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Attention management is a phrase made popular in relationship to productivity by my friend, author Maura Nevel Thomas, in her book of the same title. Her simple definition is the practice of controlling your attention. It is a practice (that takes practice), and the better we get at it, the more effective we will be

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